Marjorie-Joi Boyd, whose family moved to the Savannah area because they lost their home to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, won Tuesday night's Savannah-Chatham County Spelling Bee at the Johnson High School auditorium by correctly spelling "zephyr."

Second place went to Shontavia Harris of Gadsden Elementary, while Alex Fields of Port Wentworth Elementary earned third place.

All three will compete in the upcoming district competition. Some parents reportedly left the spelling bee when one of the words offered was "philanderer."

Judges for the event were Stephen Agykeum, a professor at Armstrong Atlantic State University; Susan Catron, executive editor of the Savannah Morning News, and Marcia Young, a teacher specialist with Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools.

Co-sponsors of the event were the Chatham Association of Educators, Professional Presence, Johnson High School and Wachovia Bank.

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